Punintentional
by Overworkedunderwhelmed
Summary: Ladybug is overjoyed when she gets the invitation of a lifetime, only to be left floundering when an even bigger surprise catches her attention.


As the rooftops rushed past beneath her feet, Ladybug's eyes blurred. That wasn't really a usual occurrence considering every advantage Miraculous gave her.

She was exhausted. Both she and Chat Noir were.

Wearily, Ladybug knocked on the window three times and balanced on the metal rail girding the balcony. She massaged her temples as she leaned back against the brick.

Hawkmoth had been relentless this past week, sending out Akuma three and four times a day. He was pushing their Kwami to the limits of their endurance and them both to their wit's end. She barely had time to call in for reinforcement from Alya, let alone pick up the Miraculous from Master Fu.

Chat Noir hadn't said anything, but she knew him well enough now to recognize the strain in his smile and the weariness in his eyes.

She was sure it was plain enough on her own face. Their masks weren't exactly built to hide that sort of thing.

It wasn't like she wasn't busy enough before Hawkmoth had started to send his evil butterflies out to terrorize the city.

She had school and helped out in the shop a little. She was on call to babysit Manon whenever Madame Chamack would be on air in the evening, and her regular sitter fell through. She also had other obligations for school as the class representative. Not to mention the fact that she still had miles of homework and catch up work assigned for her nasty habit of showing up late to lessons.

Worst of all was that she'd had to keep bailing on her friends. She hated that most of all.

But it was worth it to be sure that they would all be safe.

It had to be.

The door slid open in short order. "Ladybug!"

She smiled softly, wincing as she dropped her fingers to her side. Trust Alya not to let her favorite hero wait too long. "I saw you had something for me?"

Alya's grin widened. "Wait until you see this. I'll be right back with it."

A few months back, Alya had caught them on patrol...and had offered to play letter carrier. The Ladyblog kept getting mail as no one else was quite sure how else to contact Ladybug and Chat Noir. They weren't exactly on speed dial. Alya's very public persona made her the most ideal recipient, even if she had to meet up with them publicly in costume. Even if Chat Noir might not ever know, Alya was firmly entrenched on their side as an ally, even before she'd received her own Miraculous. So they'd agreed to let Alya be their courier.

Not long after, the really exciting invitations started to arrive. There were charity fundraisers and days to be held in their honor. There was such a quantity, that there were many that she had to ignore, although she'd taken quite a bit of joy in dropping in on the occasional child's birthday party whenever she could, watching little girls' eyes light up with joy (and stealing a bit of cake to help Tikki perk back up in between missions).

But there was such a number that she had given Alya the go-ahead to see that everything was vetted beforehand.

And clearly, whatever Alya had to give her, was big. The smug grin on Alya's face, when she returned with the ivory card, assured her as much.

Blinking, Ladybug accepted the card, reopening the seal herself.

Her eyes widened as she opened the envelope, scanning the cursive script.

Alya just cackled, arms crossed over her chest as she took in her shock with a little too much amusement. "Right?"

Maybe this was all worth it.

* * *

Ladybug sighed, and tendrils of stray hair whipped against her cheeks as she slung out her yo-yo, slinging her from one rooftop to another over the river.

Even the stress and exhaustion couldn't dampen the smile on her face as she glanced down at the thick cardstock gripped tightly between her fingers. The embossed gilt spelling Ladybug gleamed on the envelope, chasing a thrill of excitement through her.

It had taken every ounce of self-control not to shout for joy from the rooftops as she went swinging over Paris.

There was no postmark on the envelope, which meant Alya must have gotten it handed to her directly.

And as Gabriel's secretary hadn't made a surprise drop into school today, that really only left one possibility.

She'd never expected to get an invitation to attend a Gabriel fashion party.

An invite from Adrien no less…He had wanted her there.

The line for the new season had lots of reds and greens, as a tip of the hat to the heroes protecting Paris. She'd heard as much from Adrien at school.

As herself, Marinette got to attend a shoot here or there, but this was new. This was big. There would be major designers there.

She might not be able to fangirl, but she might still be able to set up contacts that would help her later in life. Meeting them first as Ladybug, when they would already be impressed by her, could only make it easier for her to get to know them later as Marinette in more professional circumstances when she would be more likely to be nervous during initial meetings.

But also, she'd get to hang out with Adrien! Without the crush of battle. Without the need to race off and keep her mask in place.

Grinning through the rose-pink glow set her free with her detransformation as she landed on her rooftop, Marinette bounced with barely restrained excitement.

Only to have the wind and the loss of her gloves work against her once the invitation slipped from her fingertips.

"Oh no!" She shouted, reaching out to grab for it over the rail, snagging it just in time to catch it before the wind let it dip down and out of reach.

Marinette shrieked out a breathless gasp as gravity decided to make itself felt on her overextended reach, tugging her over the rail at an awkward angle.

She found herself rapidly blinking down at the very familiar patch of rain-slicked sidewalk in front of her parent's shop, several stories below.

Marinette's shoulders tensed, her free arm windmilling, only to collide with solid leather.

"Easy now." Chat Noir purred, winding his arm firmly around her waist. "I've got you."

She exhaled loudly. The fear hardly had time to set in before her partner had easily banished it away like a Cataclysm. He tugged her back up onto the roof as if she were entirely weightless.

A slow smile curved his lips as he ever so gently set her still wobbly legs back down on solid ground. "That was a close one Marinette."

She nodded, her hands trembling slightly as she still held onto that card for dear life.

He tilted his head, setting both of his clawed gloves onto her shoulders. "Be careful. I'd hate to see you get hurt."

Stunned, Marinette went rigid, standing stock still beneath the weight of his claw on her shoulder.

She had heard those words before.

And very recently.

It had only been two days ago that she'd nearly collided with Adrien in the hallway when she'd been scrambling to get back to class after the second Akuma of the day.

Adrien just smiled beatifically, as he helped her right herself and picked up her bag from the floor. His hands had lingered on her shoulders just the slightest bit longer than she'd needed.

She had nearly swooned, but finally - mercifully - managed to string together enough words for a basic apology as Adrien walked beside her towards the classroom.

Marinette had replayed the scene often enough in her own mind over the hours since that she couldn't help but let her eyes stay wide as the implications - and the slow boil of panic set in. There was no way she was wrong about that phrase. But.

What if she was wrong? Or worse: what if she was right?

Concerned, Chat's eyes narrowed while his claws remained on her shoulders. He leaned in towards her slightly, confirming with his own eyes that she was genuinely unharmed.

Of course, he was completely unaware of the effect he was having on her.

He spotted the letter in her still-shaking hands, the one with Ladybug's name on the envelope.

Her eyes narrowed, allowing her to recover faster than she thought she might.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, after all.

She smiled, ruefully shrugging a shoulder, and hoping it would mask the higher pitch of her voice. "Ladybug just passed through, while I was up here. I'm not really sure if she realized she dropped it. I barely caught the envelope in time. If it fell in the street, it would have been ruined for sure."

Chat Noir's forehead wrinkled in consternation, lips pressed into a thin line. "You might have fallen, too."

"Lucky for me, there was a cat prowling around the rooftops." Her laughter was a little shaky, belying the tension as she dropped down into the damp lounger. "Ladybug was in a rush...but at least I know for sure how I can get this back to her."

His sharp green eyes slowly blinked before he shook his head, beaming over at her. "You're such a good person, Marinette."

She grinned a bit too widely, extending it out in an offer to him. "You might see her next, after all. I was thinking of passing it off through Alya."

He shook his head, leaping up onto the rail and pinning his baton with a flourish. "Then it is sure to make it back to My Lady's hands."

Her eyes softened, tapping the thick envelope between her fingers. "You really do care about her, don't you."

"It would be hard not to…"

Marinette smiled, in spite of herself. "I'm sure she'll be glad to know you helped save this, then."

The smile on his face was brilliant, as he bobbed a bit shyly, before leaping across the gap.

But then again, that smile was a familiar one. Bright and just the slightest bit crooked, even in the dim rooftop lighting.

Its aim struck true, just like it had that day in the rain.

Exhaling sharply, Marinette watched Chat Noir's form disappear - in the exact direction she would have expected.

Where she was now hoping he would...

Of course, it just figured that with all that fencing and guarding her during fight after heart-stopping fight, Adrien Agreste would have a surprisingly accurate aim.

Marinette smirked, glancing down at the invitation she held in her grasp.

Now the question was how to make her own aim strike true - outside of the mask.

Notes:

I keep toeing the line of 1000 followers on Tumblr, so this is the start of that Thank you project. So many of you have made writing for this fandom a real joy, and I definitely wouldn't still be writing but for your support and well wishes.

It really does mean a lot to me.


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